JOBTALKS
MORE THAN A
GUT FEELING
Indiana University
Kelley School of Business
C. Randall Powell, Ph.D
Contents used in this presentation are adapted from Career Planning Strategies
and used with the permission of the author.
Behavior Interviews: More
than a Gut Feeling???
How Do Interviewers Make
Objective Employee
Selection Decisions?
OR
Is The Judgment a Gut Decision?
future behavior on the job can
be anticipated by previous
behavior
 interviewers target questions
zeroing in on your past actions
preparation
 prepare the ground
establish rapport
 a few minutes of
“small talk”
past behavior = future behavior
 specific examples!
there’s always a crowd of candidates…
….how can you stand out
as the best choice?
Z.A.P. ‘em…
 Zesty Anecdotal Presentation
through a glass darkly
 help the interviewer see you clearly
ZAP ‘em with a STAR
….tell them a story that illuminates
transferrable skills….
the sounds of silence…
 no one has an immediate answer for
everything
silence is golden
 use it to your advantage….
contrarian strategy
 interviewers often probe to get a negative view
allude to minor negatives in your answers to avoid this
sometimes they just go negative
The Big Three……
There are three questions
that seem to be the
most difficult to
answer…..
“Tell us about yourself.”
“Describe your weaknesses.”
“Tell us about a mistake you have made.”
Tell them about yourself and pre-empt….
If you get the generic “Tell us about yourself”
question early in the interview – use it to
pre-empt later focus on the negative.
“That which doesn’t kill us makes
us stronger.”
In response to a “weakness” or “mistake”
question, ALWAYS address the lessons
or skills you learned….
current behavior = future behavior
 your interview IS you – will you “fit”?
Will you be the office fool?...
….the magician?...
Who are you…you, you, you, you?
 they really wanna’ know….
if the going gets tough
 hang in there….
the gestalt
 professional look and manner
 real examples of past behavior
 actions and words in the interview
success
USE:
a. Strongly Agree
b. Agree
c. Disagree
d. Strongly Disagree
e. Don’t Know
EVALUATION
QUESTIONS
1. I found the presentation material easy to
understand.
2. This session increased my knowledge on the
subject presented.
3. I will be able to use some of the information
from this session in the future.
4. The presenter was well prepared for this session.
5. This presentation should be repeated in future
semesters.
If you would like to
learn more, Career
Planning
Strategies
textbook will supply
additional
information on this
topic.